it is a bit of a walk to either train lines, but about the same as i do now. the area is actually really cool. it's very quiet and has that nice small/shanty town feel that Japan gets. the apartment is back in the alleys and down some (possibly dangerous when drunk) steps. there's a cool little park with a whackload of sakura trees just nearby. of course the neighborhood isn't really the point.

    the apartment itself is pretty nice, and pretty cheap, but it has it's drawbacks apart from the distance to the station. its nestled in the middle of a bunch of houses, so there are no windows. there is a small patioish area with the laundry lines, and there is the front door, that's it for natural light. there are some really nice couches in the living room, but unfortunately, that living room would end up being a bedroom for one of us since it's a 2dk. the guy said they had a bed though and furniture if we needed. the kitchen/dining room area is pretty small, but the bedrooms are pretty big (for Japan). there was also A/C in both rooms and a nice TV.